The known health risks of smoking are staggering. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. According to the Center for Disease Control, smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year (1 of every 5 deaths) and an estimated $167 billion each year in health-care costs. The US Surgeon General has stated, “Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.” Consider these benefits to quitting smoking:

People who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness.

Quitting by age 30 reduces the chance of dying from smoking–related diseases by more than 90 percent.

Quitting by age 50 reduces the risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke.

Thousands of smokers attempt year after year to quit, unsuccessfully, because of the challenges associated with nicotine withdrawal. There are different methods for quitting—some with serious potential side effects as well. Below are just a few of the different options available for helping to quit smoking.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (American Heart Association) —in the form of gums, patches, sprays, inhalers, or lozenges. These are designed to help relieve the physical dependency caused by nicotine addiction, allowing the user to focus on the psychological aspects of quitting.

The positive effects of quitting tobacco use start immediately and continue long after quitting. Short and long term benefits include (courtesy of the NCI):

Your blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature, which were abnormally elevated by nicotine, return to normal. Persons taking blood pressure medication should continue doing so until told otherwise by their physician.